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By Times Staff Writer
Published January 18, 2008

Millionaires, beware: IRS has its eye on you

There's at least one advantage to not being a millionaire: less chance of being audited by the Internal Revenue Service. The tax agency said Thursday that in the 2007 budget year it audited one of every 11 with incomes of $1-million or more. Among those with incomes of $100,000 or less, 99 of every 100 escaped further IRS scrutiny. Still, the IRS said its auditing rates were generally up for people of all income levels. The rates were 9.25 percent for those with incomes of more than $1-million, up from 6.3 percent in 2006; 2.87 percent for those with incomes above $200,000, up from 2.57 percent; and 0.93 percent for those earning under $100,000, up from 0.89 percent the previous year. The IRS looked at 1,384,563 returns in fiscal 2007, 1.03 percent of the individual returns of 134.4-million in the previous calendar year. The audit rate was up 7 percent from the previous year.

No escape from NBC video, ads

In a topsy-turvy TV world challenged by new technologies, NBC Universal is betting that the future of the video business is not just at home or online, but in supermarkets, arenas, taxi cabs and gas stations. NBC held its first "Digital Out-of-Home" presentation Wednesday, pitching its business offerings and plans to about 200 people representing advertisers and media buyers. "Media has become very fragmented. People are consuming media in a variety of different settings," said Mark French, general manager of the company's NBC Everywhere division. French said the goal is to expose viewers to entertaining video and ensure that ads are seen. He projects that NBC's out-of-home content, played on more than 300,000 screens nationwide, will be viewed more than 3-billion times this year.

Google gives back, $26M to be exact

Google Inc.'s philanthropic arm is making more than $26-million in new grants and investments in organizations and companies devoted to causes that the Internet search leader thinks will help make the world a better place. The financial commitments announced Thursday are the largest made by Google.org since the company launched its altruistic effort with $90-million in funding in 2005. ESolar Inc., a Pasadena, Calif., startup specializing in solar thermal power, is getting the most money from Google.org - a $10-million investment. The philanthropic arm evolved out of a commitment made by Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, now both 34, when they took their company public in August 2004.

Claiborne, Kohl's are fashion friends

Liz Claiborne Inc., the maker of Kate Spade handbags and Juicy Couture clothing, agreed to license its Dana Buchman women's brand to Kohl's Corp. Under the agreement, Kohl's, the fourth-largest U.S. department store chain, will be the exclusive retailer for the Dana Buchman line of products, Kohl's said Thursday. The merchandise, including women's apparel, accessories and footwear, will be available starting in spring 2009 in Kohl's more than 1,000 U.S. stores, the retailer said. The brand may extend into home, beauty and fragrance categories, Kohl's said. Kohl's will lead the manufacturing, distribution and marketing of the products, the department-store chain said.

[Last modified January 18, 2008, 00:22:14]